Interview – Get to Know the Troy Trojans with Josh Boutwell

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Josh Boutwell of the Troy Messenger stopped by to talk about Duke’s next opponent, the Troy Trojans, and what to expect from Troy in the Birmingham Bowl. During our interview, we talked the coaching change for both teams, my time working for a sign company and the advantage it gave me in recognizing random cities and towns across the United States, the Trojans’ football culture, what a great stadium we’ll get to watch the game in and the terrible parking situation in Birmingham. Not to give away the ending, but the Blue Devils are going to have their hands full come December 23.

In addition, Josh discusses his cancer treatment during the interview. Please stop by this site to help out with his medical costs if you are so inclined.

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As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Marilyn Payne

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ESPN and ACC Network reporter and noted Tar Heel Marilyn Payne stopped by the pod to talk about her history covering Duke football, my conspiracy theory that she singlehandedly brought about the end of the Elko Era in Durham, FSU getting snubbed and how The ACC can improve its overall brand. We also talked about Manny Mania coming to Blue Devil Nation. Funny thing happened after that as we spent about 20 minutes disputing two points that, once we defined our terms, we agreed on. I edited that out for time. That edit notwithstanding, you will get an update about Marilyn’s upcoming plans for bowl seasons and which future ACC team she will be covering. And, if that weren’t enough, you’ll learn about Marilyn’s favorite movie and get a some real deep nerd references from me.

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Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Duke Hires Manny Diaz

It became official late last night – Duke hired Penn State DC Manny Diaz to be the program’s next head coach. We’ll do more in the next couple of weeks about this hire. But with bowl season, I’m a little backed up.

So, instead of doing a full post about why I like this hire and how I think it is a good one, I’ll just drop a link to a call I had with Adam Gold yesterday in which we discuss the Diaz hire before it became official. We cover what to expect from Diaz, the transfer portal and what this hire means for the Blue Devils. Hey, we just might be a football school after all!

Check it out on YouTube, too:

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As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Steve Wiseman Talks Coaching Search and Birmingham Bowl

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Steve Wiseman stopped by to talk about a crazy, crazy week of Duke and ACC football. We begin by talking about how FSU got the shaft courtesy of Boo Corrigan, et al., as did SMU. And, most important, I got to use one of my favorite historical quotes. It’s Truman on Nixon. I mean, what else do you need?

After that, Steve and I talk about his hectic schedule trying to cover Elko’s departure from Durham and the Blue Devils’ coaching search. There’s a lot of ground to cover and Steve will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about what happened with Elko and how Nina King is leading Duke through this transitional period. If that weren’t enough, we also go over how the Blue Devils landed in the Birmingham Bowl and not the Gasparilla Bowl. Thanks, CFP Selection Committee. And Notre Dame.

Oh, and it turns out Duke has a basketball team. Who knew? In all seriousness, we spend some time trying to diagnose why the Blue Devils have been struggling out of the gate. As always, Steve was a great and informative guest. You’ll love this episode.

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As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Mike Elko Reaction Episode

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After a few voicemails and a message from former site contributor Mike Kline, Dad took a break from Richlandia to stop by and check in after Mike Elko left Duke for A&M. We talk about the current state of the program, possible head coach candidates and the program’s foundation. We all trust Nina King to bring a quality head coach to Durham. It may take a few years, but Dad feels confident that the Blue Devils will be 10-2 soon. Nothing can shake this man’s optimism for Duke football.

Programming note – stay tuned as we will have an interview with Steve Wiseman in the coming days. That will be a fun one. Steve is a great guest and always has something interesting to tell us. I can’t wait!

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Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the Pitt Panthers with Noah Hiles

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First, let me apologize for some inconsistent audio quality. My Bluetooth headset kept cutting in and out on volume and I had to amplify the audio. Not sure why it happened. That can only mean I need a new headset. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Pitt beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Noah Hiles stopped by to get us ready for a noon matchup with the Panthers at Wallace Wade. During this 5o+ minute interview, we talk about the struggles that Duke has had in beating Pitt, the disaster of a year the Panthers are going through and the fact that the Blue Devils have sort of kind of maybe fallen off after a good start.

In addition, we discuss the scheduling issues that ACC teams will continue face as a result of an unbalanced and ridiculously unfair schedule. To elaborate on that, there’s a reason that Duke is behind GA Tech, UNC and VA Tech this year. The Blue Devils have had, by far, the toughest schedule in The ACC. When you throw the injuries on top of that, this record shouldn’t be a surprise. Listen, guys, we’re just going to have to deal with getting a raw deal when it comes to the schedule. It’s not fair, but it is what it is.

Also, we get a guest pick from former Duke WR Ben Erdeljac! He’s taking the Blue Devils to close the season on a win. Let’s Go!!!

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As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the UVA Cavaliers with Dan Siegel

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Old friend of the podcast Dan Siegel returned to get us ready for a big game this weekend with UVA. Dan tells us about the Hoos’ improving situation that isn’t reflected in the W-L column. Turns out the Cavs have a good QB and a solid defense. We also discuss Tony Elliott’s future in Charlottesville.

Before we get into the interview, we have some voicemails which bring some real heat to the ending of the Duke-UNC game. These guys had a lot to say and it’s hard to argue with any of it.

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As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the UNC Tar Heels with Mack Brown (Yep, Mack Brown)

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As I said all season, we got a major guest to preview the Duke-UNC game. And when I tell you something, you know you can trust me to deliver. To-wit:

Mack Brown, UNC’s head coach, stopped by to talk about the state of the Carolina program, how great of a job Coach Elko is doing and what to expect in the Battle for the Victory Bell. You won’t believe who Mack takes to win. During our interview, we also discuss Mack’s plan to return to broadcasting, The Carolina Way and why UNC has struggled with consistency so much during the last two seasons. It might be because he’s perpetually online. Oh, and Mack has some thoughts on MJ Morris redshirting and what Brennan Armstrong will do for the Wolfpack going forward.

If that weren’t enough, we’ve got a guest pick from all-time great Blue Devil Randy Cuthbert! It’s always a good day when you hear from a Duke legend who knows a thing or two about beating the Heels.

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Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know the Wake Forest Demon Deacons with Conor O’Neill

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Conor O’Neill, co-host of the Big J & Little J Show and publisher for Deacons and Devils Illustrated, stopped by to preview Duke’s upcoming Thursday night game. During our interview, we discuss Wake’s struggles on offense, the chances it has left to get bowl eligible and we do a deep dive on the Blue Devils. During the Duke portion of the discussion, we recap the loss at Louisville, cover the struggles at the WR position, discuss the uncertainty surrounding the health of our quarterbacks and try to comprehend the slew of injuries that have struck the Blue Devils of late. My conclusion is that we’re fortunate to have a great coaching staff and we have to hope their tactical expertise will get the Blue Devils a victory on Thursday night. We’re lucky to have the staff that we have and we have to hope those guys will right the ship.

Oh, and it turns out we landed a big, big guest for the UNC preview. We didn’t drop the name in the episode, but this is a guy with significant coaching experience at CHC. You’re going to enjoy this one, I promise.

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Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

Interview – Get to Know Duke Basketball with Robert Brickey

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All-time Duke great Robert Brickey returned to the podcast to get us ready for the Blue Devils’ basketball team. (Turns out this team has been around for a while. Who knew? I always thought Duke was just a football school, but I’m glad to learn.) During the interview, we discussed Robert’s upcoming wedding, give glowing reviews to Coach Scheyer and are both high on the Blue Devils’ chances this season. Robert also gives his perspective on conference restructuring and how it may be time to separate football and Olympic sports going forward. Oh, and we talk about how well the football team has been doing since Elko & Co. got to Durham. This was a fun talk with a great guest.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!